Visions for Organisation
What are some of the key things that need to be put in place in order to both organise a successful meeting in 2024 and to fulfill this vision?
© 2024 IAU General Assembly 2024 – Cape Town
Organising Structures
Status / Challenges:
- We need to go beyond an organising committee and have an organising structure, with a core team and various sub-teams. The core team should be highly effective people who gel well together. They should all recognise that internal conflicts place the event at risk and should thus be dealt with swiftly and amicably. We should set an example of teamwork which does not require a handful of astronomers giving up their research career for a year to organise a GA.
- The core team should each have respective teams of volunteers behind them e.g. programme team, social events team, finance team, etc. Anyone willing to contribute their time towards the organising should be welcome to do so in a clear, structured way.
Actions:
- Establish a core team of leaders with respective teams taking on various aspects of this document.
- Set up a system that enables anyone to contribute in some way to the organising of the GA. The system should include sign-up instructions and clear descriptions of the different aspects of the preparations, so that people can know where to volunteer and what they would be in charge of
Suggested Leaders:
National Organising Committee.
Advisors
Status / Challenges:
The core team of lead organisers should be supplemented with a group of advisors which are representative of all major stakeholders e.g. DSI, NRF, industry, SARAO, SKAO, SAAO, AfAS, other African countries, etc.
Actions:
Establish a team of advisors ensuring that all relevant parties are well represented. This team will meet less frequently than the core organising team.
Suggested Leaders:
National Organising Committee.
Professional Conference Organiser
Status / Challenges:
A company would be employed to handle all the logistics and a senior representative of that company would be part of the core team of leaders mentioned above. Important to ensure at the outset that this company would need to work closely with the organising structure and be flexible enough to cater for specific needs of astronomers.
Actions:
Identify a list of potential conference organisers who would bid for the contract to organise 2024- Consult with previous clients of those conference organisers
- Appoint PCO through the NRF process
Suggested Leaders:
National Organising Committee.
Standing Agenda Item until 2024
Status / Challenges:
Astronomy2024 should be a standing agenda item in all recurring meetings such as the Astronomy Advisory Committee, Astronomy town meeting, DSI Exco, NRF Directors Forum, SKA Partner Countries Ministerial Meetings, SAIP, ASSAf, ISC ROA, etc.
Actions:
Consult with the relevant officials to ensure that 2024 is a standing item of discussion at all relevant meetings
Suggested Leaders:
National Organising Committee.
Accessibility
Status / Challenges:
Accessibility of the conference can be achieved in several ways; also need to consider accessibility in general, of facilities, of software for astronomers, of content, etc.
Actions:
Ensure all aspects of the planning and implementation of the GA appropriately considers the issue of accessibility
Suggested Leaders:
National Organising Committee.
